Family fortunes rise again

Walter Butler (1770-1820), 1st Marquess of Ormonde (2nd creation), who was profligate with his wealth, ran with the fashionable crowd surrounding the Prince Regent.

He ordered furniture and fittings from firms in Dublin and London. During an extensive refurbishment that took place at the castle in 1801-3, prior to the marriage of Walter to an English heiress Anna Maria Price-Clarke, items such as expensive wallpapers were purchased from J. Munns and Company in London.

Portraits were commissioned from the fashionable London painter Sir William Beechey; and over £7,000 was spent on furniture from suppliers in London and Dublin.